Chapter 21: Jade Buddha Protects the Body

  Everyone has heard a saying that goes "a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a mistress, and a mistress is not as good as one who cannot be caught." The reason for this lies in the differences between men and women. Firstly, women are often shy, especially those from ancient times who were suppressed by feudal etiquette and believed that matters between husband and wife should not be publicly disclosed, so they would rather not express their true feelings. As a result, men feel that there is no novelty after a long time, and eventually lose interest. Secondly, the proper wife is expected to be dignified and refined, but because of her high status, she cannot compare with the tenderness of a concubine, let alone the thrill of an illicit affair. In olden times, men could have multiple wives and concubines, which fostered their chauvinistic habits and made them think that it was only natural for them to indulge in romantic trysts. Our Qingqing is precisely such a woman - a proper wife with the demeanor of a concubine.

  He was both delighted and worried, delighted that he loved the way Liu Qingqing was acting, but not liking it when she did so in front of other men; looking at Liu Qingqing's appearance, any man would be captivated. However, there was also worry, the reason being that Ren Zhongjie had said before that during an episode of her illness, what appeared was a imagined scenario. Therefore, Hu Zhongren was most worried that Liu Qingqing's deep affection was not directed at him, so he suppressed his surging emotions and asked Liu Qingqing with a calm gaze: "Don't be surprised, do you know who I am?" Hu Zhongren thought to himself: It was only natural to be intimate with one's own wife, and it was even more in line with his heart's desire when she was being affectionate. However, there was still a long time ahead, and he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him, especially not when his wife was ill, so as not to do something inappropriate.

  Liu Qingqing smiled coquettishly and refused to answer. Hu Zhongren insisted on asking, "Tell me, who am I?"

  "You're Hu Shao, aren't you?" Liu Qingqing smiled enchantingly, her charm and beauty captivating. It's a pity she wasn't sold to a brothel to be a prostitute, what a waste of her natural talent!

  She just heard that little lotus call her Hu Shao, and he called that maid Little Lotus. Such a small matter for the adaptable Liu Qingqing was simply a trivial matter, Hu Zhongren suppressed his desire and asked again: "What's my name?"

  "What's your name, you don't even know yourself, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Looking at Hu Zhongren's serious expression, "Ah, why do you have so many things on your mind? Of course, you're Zhongren, my dear beloved husband!" Hu Zhongren was overjoyed and tearfully asked, "Madam, you recognize me?"

  "Shorty, you're my darling brother, how could I not recognize you? Darling brother, don't cry, I'll treat you gently, your appearance is heart-wrenching, it's breaking my heart! " Liu Qingqing's lively big eyes blinked rapidly. Her small mouth pouted and puckered, fresh red and inviting, Hu Zhongren really wanted to kiss her. We have to admit, men are indeed animals, and Hu Zhongren couldn't help himself either. This was all thanks to Liu Qingqing's top-notch flirting skills, especially this move of pretending to be innocent and coquettish, which was always effective.

  However, there was a time when they got in trouble. I remember when we were in high school, a transfer student joined our junior high department. He was incredibly handsome and cool. Liu Qingqing took a few of her girlfriends to check him out, but the boy was so scared that he didn't dare come to school for three days. His parents complained to their class teacher, and as punishment, the girls had to clean the toilets for several days.

  Now, Hu Zhongren once again made Liu Qingqing lose her breath. He looked at Liu Qingqing's clear and transparent eyes, but they seemed to lack direction and purpose, so he determined that she didn't really know herself. Thus, he endured the unbearable swelling pain and left the study room. However, Liu Qingqing hugged Hu Zhongren from behind, and Hu Zhongren felt Liu Qingqing's warm and soft body against his back, causing his blood to surge upwards. His self-control had all gone to Java, so he turned around, stretched out his hands to hug Liu Qingqing on the bamboo bed, and eagerly pressed himself against her body. With a flick of his finger, he extinguished the lamp, kicked the door shut with one foot, and everything was settled. The surroundings were suddenly dark, and nothing could be seen except for the chirping of insects in the quiet night. Hu Zhongren's hands encircled Liu Qingqing's slender waist, and his lips covered her soft lip, ready to consummate their marriage. Suddenly, a strong external force propelled him upwards, and before he could understand what was happening, he crashed into the door panel and fell out of the room. Looking inside, Liu Qingqing was enveloped in a strange green light - "Yufo's protection!" Hu Zhongren was shocked: "It seems that Ren Zhongjie's words were true." Hu Zhongren struggled to get up, saw Xiaolian and Yinger rushing in, and realized that his fall had startled them. His face turned red as he coughed dryly and said: "Xiaolian, you two stay here to watch over Ninth Lady. If anything happens, call me, I'll return to Fengqi Building." Xiaolian and Yinger nodded in agreement, and Hu Zhongren took the lamp from Xiaolian's hand, refusing their escort, feeling embarrassed.

  Xiao Lian and Yingying bid farewell to Hu Zhongren, entered the study, saw Miss already asleep on the bed, two people sat down opposite each other at the table, chatting casually, Yingying couldn't help but laugh: "Miss is also too mischievous, Hu Shao must be very uncomfortable this time?"

  "No, I mean both of them are suffering. One is searching for love in vain, the other has feelings but to no avail." Xiaolian's murmured words were full of Zen implications, and Yingying seemed to understand yet not understand.

  Yingying said, "You're speaking like a Zen master and nobody can understand you. I don't want to know about your grown-up bird business. It's better for me to sleep." After that, Yingying folded her arms as a pillow and fell asleep with a snore.

  Xiao Lian looked at Yingying, thinking that she was indeed young and had a good head on her shoulders. In fact, Xiao Lian herself was only 16 years old. However, having been by the side of Madam Xiu Lian and Hu Shao for a long time, she had seen many things and couldn't help but feel a sense of world-weariness. When it came to matters of love between men and women, her thoughts were much more mature than Yingying's.

  A spark flashed, just like the turbulent heart of Xiaolian. Just now, she had guessed that something was amiss between Hu Shao and Jiu Furen. Especially the strange green light emanating from Jiu Furen's body had left her perplexed. She recalled Ren Zhongjie's words: only when two people are deeply in love and have a strong emotional connection can they overcome obstacles, even cure each other's illnesses. Now that Hu Shao's advances had been rebuffed, it proved that Jiu Furen's true love was not Hu Shao, or rather, Liu Qingqing did not have Hu Shao etched in her heart. Even if Hu Shao truly liked Jiu Furen, he could not use his emotions to cure her illness. Jiu Furen was unaware of her own feelings and would not suffer, but Hu Shao knew his emotional inclinations and could not fulfill them, which must be painful. Watching him leave the study with a dejected look, it was likely not just because his advances had been rejected, but also due to the distress of unrequited love. Thinking this way, her heart felt like it was being stabbed by a knife, the pain was unbearable, and she could not bear to see Hu Shao suffer. Not knowing how to alleviate Hu Shao's pain, she glanced at Liu Qingqing who was sleeping soundly, while also noticing that Yingying had already fallen asleep with a snore. A decision gradually formed in her mind, and she quietly got up, picked up the lantern, carefully stepped over Yingying, walked out of the study door, and headed towards the direction of Feng Qiu Lou.

  It's deep in the night, half past midnight.

  A dark figure flipped down from the eaves, hung upside down like a golden lotus, and gently opened the window with one hand to form a peephole. Under the dim moonlight, everything inside was visible. Liu Qingqing lay on her back in bed, snoring softly. The visitor carefully pushed open the slightly ajar door and entered the study. Using an anesthetic cloth, he made Yingying silent, then picked her up and put her on the bed in the east wing. He returned to Liu Qingqing's bedside, watching under the hazy moonlight as if confirming whether it was really Liu Qingqing. After confirmation, he seemed delighted, quickly undressing Liu Qingqing, who looked like a soft noodle, helpless against his manipulation. The visitor appeared to appreciate Liu Qingqing's beauty and hastily removed his own clothes, his intentions clear. Just as with Hu Zhongren's encounter, a green glow enveloped Liu Qingqing, repelling the dark figure with malicious intent out of the room. Before he could get up from his fall outside, a low, aged voice said, "Didn't we agree? Whoever goes up the mountain is mine. You're quite bold to try to snatch food from a tiger's mouth."

  He rolled over and sprang up with a flick of his tail, stood up and said: "I don't care about others. But this woman, I won't let you harm her!"

  "This is probably beyond your control! Moreover, I won't let her go, whoever dares to get close to Hu Zhongren and gain his favor, I will make him suffer all the hardships in the world!"

  "You're a devil! With such a vicious heart, I will never let your ambition succeed. Especially for Liu Qingqing, I will absolutely protect her, don't force me to take action against you."

  "Then let's see! Unless you have the ability to make him leave Hu Zhongren, otherwise, I will definitely harm her and make her want to live but cannot, want to die but cannot." The old man's voice laughed softly, in the quiet night it felt like an owl's laughter, making people even more terrified.

  The two black shadows that had arrived first seemed to want to say something, but suddenly they saw Liu Qingqing standing up in the study, and immediately the two black shadows escaped and disappeared without a trace.

  Liu Qingqing walked out of the study and came to the east house, not knowing whether she had seen Yingying or not. She suddenly fell onto the bed, hugging Yingying's shoulders, and soon fell fast asleep. Oh dear, it turned out that Miss was sleepwalking! If those two black shadows knew that Liu Qingqing had come down for this reason and hadn't discovered them, they would definitely be furious. However, since they were up to no good and didn't dare show their true faces, covering themselves with black veils, they must not be good people. Smart as you are, take a guess, who do you think they are?